The present invention relates generally to eggs and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for handling eggs.
In poultry hatcheries and other egg processing facilities, eggs are handled and processed in large numbers. The term xe2x80x9cprocessingxe2x80x9d includes treating live eggs with medications, nutrients, hormones and/or other beneficial substances while the embryos are still in the egg (i.e., in ovo). In ovo injections of various substances into avian eggs have been employed to decrease post-hatch morbidity and mortality rates, increase the potential growth rates or eventual size of the resulting bird, and even to influence the gender determination of the embryo. Injection of vaccines into live eggs have been effectively employed to immunize birds in ovo. It is further desirable in the poultry industry to manipulate an embryo in ovo to introduce foreign nucleic acid molecules (i.e., to create a transgenic bird) or to introduce foreign cells (i.e., to create a chimeric bird) into the developing embryo.
In ovo injection of a virus may be utilized to propagate the particular virus for use in preparation of vaccines. Examples of substances that have been used for, or proposed for, in ovo injection include vaccines, antibiotics and vitamins. Examples of in ovo treatment substances and methods of in ovo injection, as well as apparatus for handling a plurality of eggs, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,630 to Sharma et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,421 to Fredericksen et al., which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Improved methods of injecting eggs containing an embryo may be used to remove samples from eggs, including embryonic and extra-embryonic materials. Further, for other applications it may be desirable to insert a sensing device inside an egg containing an embryo to collect information therefrom, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,214 to Hebrank, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In commercial hatcheries, eggs typically are held in setting flats during incubation. At a selected time, typically on the eighteenth day of incubation, the eggs are removed from an incubator. Unfit eggs (namely, dead eggs, rotted eggs, empties, and clear eggs) are identified and removed, live eggs are treated (e.g., inoculated) and then transferred to hatching baskets.
Conveyor belts are conventionally utilized to transport live eggs from one location to another before, during and/or after processing. Unfortunately, live eggs typically will not distribute evenly across a moving conveyor belt. Live eggs will often roll backwards, end-over-end, in the opposite direction of the moving conveyor belt. The lack of even distribution and backwards rolling of live eggs can cause difficulties at various processing apparatus. For example, eggs can become bunched together which may result in breakage. In addition, bunching can result in eggs being placed on top of other eggs on a conveyor, which may also cause breakage. Eggs rolling end-over-end can also xe2x80x9cride upxe2x80x9d on other eggs which may also cause breakage.
In view of the above discussion, embodiments of the present invention provide an egg transfer apparatus that is configured to distribute eggs substantially evenly with reduced breakage on a moving conveyor. The egg transfer apparatus includes a conveyor having opposite first and second ends and a plurality of elongated, flexible guides extending between the conveyor first and second ends in adjacent, spaced apart relationship with each other. The guides, for example, may be strands of wire (e.g., metallic wire, polymeric wire, fibrous wire, etc.), elongated, thin rods, etc. The guides define a plurality of channels that are configured to evenly distribute eggs placed on the conveyor. The guides are elevated above the conveyor by an amount that decreases in a direction towards the conveyor second end. In addition, the guides converge toward the conveyor second end. This configuration of the guides allows an egg in a channel that is backed-up with eggs to cross over into an adjacent channel. Accordingly, eggs on the moving conveyor achieve a substantially even distribution.
An egg handling system according to embodiments of the present invention includes an egg positioning apparatus that positions eggs in a predetermined orientation, an egg transfer apparatus operably associated with the egg positioning apparatus, and an egg lifting device operably associated with the egg transfer apparatus. The conveyor of the egg transfer apparatus is operably associated with the egg positioning apparatus.
The egg positioning apparatus is configured to orient and hold eggs in a predetermined position for processing (e.g., in ovo injection, etc.) and includes a plurality of chutes for receiving eggs in single-file order from the conveyor of the egg transfer apparatus. Each of the channels of the egg transfer apparatus is in communication with a respective one of the chutes. The configuration of each channel allows an egg to cross over into an adjacent channel when a respective chute is backed up with eggs.